Abstract

This study was performed to measure the moral judgment (P(%) and 4-stage) scores of student nurses four times over a three year period and to identify any statistically significant changes in participants' scores. Data were collected through self-reported questionnaires from student nurses at one university in Korea from September 2005 to September 2008. The Korean version of the Defining Issues Test (DIT) was adopted to evaluate the moral judgment (P(%) and 4-stage) scores of participants. The results were as follows: 1) Participants' consecutive P(%) scores were 45.81, 48.92, 42.69, 40.45, with of a mean of 44.74; and their consecutive 4-stage scores were 12.51, 12.78, 14.93, 17.08, with a mean of 14.15; and 2) the scores of P(%) rose until participants reached their 2nd grade, but then started to fall when they reached 3rd grade and continued to fall in the 4th grade, while the scores of 4-stage increased steadily during the study period. These moral judgment scores, especially those for 4th grade students, are very similar to the scores for Korean nurses. It is concluded that the moral judgment of student nurses is affected by nurses during their practical training. This study suggests that there is a need to develop the moral judgment of student nurses and nurses in nursing education and practice.

Keywords

• Moral development;
• Nursing students;
• Nurses;
• Defining Issues Test;
• DIT

• 도덕발달;
• 간호 대학생;
• 간호사;